The Soprano's: Artie Finds His Groove

For many Soprano fans, the episodes this season have been somewhat uneven.  Sunday night was no exception with a mix of killings and maimings tossed in with the mundane goings on in the lives of the characters.  The mundane Sunday night centered around Artie's restaurant, Vesuvio's as Artie struggled with a drastic decrease in customers and theft of credit card numbers by an employee.  What does this have to do with food?  Well, Artie seems to have lost his passion for cooking and now leaves most of the cooking to others.  But at the end of the episode, Artie must cook for two customers who arrive after the kitchen is closed.  He prepares something for them off the menu ( a rabbit shot by him in his garden) using a recipe by his grandfather from a worn notebook.  You can see the passion and enthusiam return. 
How do you find passion for cooking?  How do you maintain enthusaism when cooking for your family night after night and where do you get your inspiration?  I find I have days or weeks where I have so many ideas I can't prepare them all and then weeks where I have no idea what to prepare.  Tell me your experiences.